[Closed] Anybody else follow a Paleo lifestyle?

sits back and opens vegan biscuits. 🙂

Does Waitrose stock mammoth meat?

Lol.. yeah I follow a paeleo lifestyle. I hunt and gather all my own food, I live in a cave and as I approach my late 30s I'm expecting to die soon. Maybe as I get slower I'll be gored by a mammoth.

Sounds good, but what's wrong with potatoes?

Lifestyle? It's a diet.
I did it for a while. It was pretty good but I'm convinced that most benefits came from having to cook fresh, which we should do anyway.

Which are the bugs of choice,do you forage for them yourself, or are you just being trendy?

[b]Experts took issue with the diet on every measure. [/B]Regardless of the goal—weight loss, heart health, or finding a diet that’s easy to follow—most experts concluded that it would be better for dieters to look elsewhere.

Sounds great.

Where do I sign up.

and as I approach my late 30s I'm expecting to die soon

You lasted that long in Western Europe? You must be cheating......

I think the diet is pretty decent - I dunno why experts would take issue with it nutritionally. Maybe on sustainability terms, it does take some effort at first, and may be difficult for many long term simply because of the number of things you can't have that are 'normal'.

Actually, come to think of it, I do remember reading about this. A lot of paeleo advocates are saying you have to eat loads of meat, which isn't that good for you. That's not really necessary at all, I think the authors of some books have just created this strong animal caveman thing and filled the diet with meat to appeal to the macho gym goer types. Anyone can hijack this and write a dodgy book with the name paeleo in the title and there's no-one to defend the original idea.

I do take issue with the idea that it must be perfect for us because it's what our ancestors ate though. That idea's full of holes, even if it does end up broadly resulting in decent diet. This might even be coincidence.

I think the diet is pretty decent - I dunno why experts would take issue with it

Me neither as I didn't read the full report.

But as that was the Synopsis.

I didn't feel the need to find out to be honest.

"On every measure" seemed fairly comprehensive.

It was ranked last and joint last in two separate studies of 20+ diets involving 20+ expert opinions.

See my edit - since the diet's not copyrighted, it seems to have been hijacked by dodgy book floggers.

Most of the vegetables we grow didn't exist in Paleo times, they've been created through selective breading. I suspect it's almost impossible to find any authentic Paleo vegetable species now.

The no gluten thing is a bit off - there's evidence in many places that they did eat wild grasses with gluten in in some places (althougn not in the quantities we do now), and there are also many wild legumes they'd have eaten.

Footflaps - plenty of authentic fruit round my way, they are called crab apples. Tuck in! 🙂

I do follow something close to it, yes, because of Crohns disease and coeliac, I found it the best way to manage the condition. I'm not a slave to the dogma though - I did give up all grains for a while, but I eat white rice now sometimes and also use gluten free tamari soy sauce and miso in cooking, because I refuse to pay £7 for a bottle of coconut aminos, and I also figure the Asians do pretty well with rice and fermented soy - lowest incidence of crohns/colitis, heart disease, obesity etc in areas where they follow traditional diets.

I found the biggest benefit probably came from giving up processed stuff, cooking from scratch, and eliminating dairy, but an awful lot of people with coeliac disease have a lactose intolerance so no big surprise there.

Mol makes a good point that nutritionally, it's a pretty sound diet, but that the "ancestral" claims are dubious. What your ancestors ate depends very much on your genetic makeup, and that's down to the individual. It has also been hijacked by the "body beautiful" types somewhat, which can be offputting, but for people with certain health conditions I think it can make a lot of sense.

[i]they've been created through selective breading[/i]

Modern foods are the result of people using their loaf?

It seems to work for me, after reading the Paleo Diet for Athletes. Less bloating, faster recovery and generally feeling better. Raced the Thetford Summer Enduro to third place with no issues on Sunday too.

Have a read around here: [url= http://www.marksdailyapple.com ]http://www.marksdailyapple.com[/url] for lots of considered discussions... rather than knee jerk, arm chair experts. 😀

One thing I couldn't do was "fat adapt" though. I couldn't break away from using gels on long rides - tried the Paleo recommendations of dried fruit, nuts etc, didn't work, nothing puts the power in my legs like maltodextrin, fructose and a pinch of caffeine!

I hit ketosis about a week ago, had a huge energy crash. I still use gels and energy drinks for racing, but keep to real foods for training.

Paleo diet?

What's that? I'm sure our paleo ancestors would have been eating a lot of small creatures like insects, rats etc and all raw. Sounds pretty revolting to me.

surprised no one has posted that link to the Ted talk on the Paleo Diet by that Anthropologist

I do like the fact that the OP follows the diet right up to the point where he needs a reliable source of energy and then switches to the most scientific/manufactured foodstuffs available.

I reckon Cavemen probably ate anything they could get their hands on.

Cutting down on starch and sugar sounds like Atkins or dukan. Only with marketing to sell it to ray mears fans.

Personally I'm in the school that says removing a whole food group is a bit pointless, barring medical reasons. Carbs are cheap. Fats are essential, including saturated fat. Protein also essential.

Me neither as I didn't read the full report.

But as that was the Synopsis.

I didn't feel the need to find out to be honest.

The problem with the US News "report" is that it is completely taken out of context. When they say

most experts concluded that it would be better for dieters to look elsewhere

this is because paleo is not a "diet" in the sense of OK magazine fads/crash weight loss exercises - it is a [b]healthy lifestyle[/b] so yes, if you are after quick weight loss, I'm sure you would be better off to "look elsewhere".

Lifestyle? It's a diet.

edit: IMO the "paleo" label is/was a big mistake as it just makes people focus on whatever caveman may or may not have done, which is obviously pretty irrelevant.

Our ancestors were all dead from various tongs by the time they were 40 - so the long-term health effects of their diet weren't really tested. Frankly they could have been eating cheeseburgers all day and it wouldn't have had much effect on their mortality.

In fact they probably were, which explains why cheeseburgers are so popular now - we evolved to like that kind of food.

Raced the Thetford Summer Enduro to third place with no issues on Sunday too.

I'm not sure what conclusion you think you can draw from this? Eg You may have done much better had you been on a different diet / lifestyle scheme.

These Paleozoic diets - how do they work cos it must be a bugger to get hold of Trilobites for a stew.

Again, no. The diet is important but it is so much more than this, it is about reducing stress, exercising properly and enjoying life as much as it is about improving your diet.

[img] [/img]

Been paleo for 2 years or so after about a year of the slow carb diet.

For me it's perfect. we ditched processed food and cook danmed near everything from scratch.

It is more of a lifestyle though as you need to commit to cooking more and then its' hard not to get drawn into the rest of the it like making sure you sleep enough and get enough sun for vitamin D etc etc

Makes me happy and the family feel much better on it. (another +ve is that my hayfever has gone)

A healthy lifestyle is not exclusive to those following a paleo diet.

(another +ve is that my hayfever has gone)

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation

we ditched processed food and cook danmed near everything from scratch

That's just called cooking though isn't it.

hard not to get drawn into the rest of the it like making sure you sleep enough and get enough sun for vitamin D etc etc

Seriously, you needed a "lifestyle" to tell you that getting enough sleep and enough sunlight is a good idea?

(another +ve is that my hayfever has gone)

I've not had any hayfever for the last two years either, although I've been putting that down to the rubbish weather we've had the last few years.

[i] I'm saying that "paleo" is not just about what you eat. [/i]

equally, a lot of other issues that people have are 'lifestyle' and not diet related. 'getting enough sleep' is likely to improve anyones health, with no change to other aspects of their life.

I know you didn't. The "paleo" bit is the diet. The rest is being healthy.
My point is that if I (and quite a few others on here) were to go "paleo", the only thing which would change is what I eat.
As I said; I quite liked it. I don't do it strictly any more, the main thing I took from it is don't eat bread.

Seriously, you needed a "lifestyle" to tell you that getting enough sleep and enough sunlight is a good idea?

In case you haven't realised, yes there are a lot of people who work too much, don't get enough sleep and could do with being outside more.

My point is that if I (and quite a few others on here) were to go "paleo", the only thing which would change is what I eat.

Hey, I'm not bashing it!

In case you haven't realised, yes there are a lot of people who work too much, don't get enough sleep and could do with being outside more.

Of course I do, I've been one of them for the last few years. But I still don't need some piece of lifestyle marketing to tell me what is right and what is wrong.

Make all the postive changes you can to your lifestyle. Eat more veg, get more exercise, good for you. Just don't wrap it up in new age marketing nonsense about a "diet" or "lifestyle" that does not, and never has existed in that form.

[i]Make all the postive changes you can to your lifestyle. Eat more veg, get more exercise, good for you. Just don't wrap it up in new age marketing nonsense about a "diet" or "lifestyle" that does not, and never has existed in that form.[/i]

this.

The individual changes aren't what grate - it's the evangelism.

The only evangelism I can see on display in this thread is from those taking the piss.

[img] [/img]

To clarify, I was making a more general point about promotion of a 'paleo lifestyle' as somehow being revolutionary, not necessarily specific digs at those on this thread.

There is an ethical dimension to it as well - encouraging locally sourced produce, sustainably farmed produce, discouraging the use of air freighted fresh stuff and eating seasonally....that said, there seems to be a lot of coconut in the Paleo diet, and I can't remember the last time I saw coconuts growing in Yorkshire 😉

It's got some good ideas and has worked quite well health wise for me, but I think some of the philosophy behind it is a wee bit confused!

It's got some good ideas

It's not really saying anything new, eating healthily, avoiding processed food, etc is hardly cutting edge stuff....

To clarify, I was making a more general point about promotion of a 'paleo lifestyle' as somehow being revolutionary

It's not really saying anything new, eating healthily, avoiding processed food, etc is hardly cutting edge stuff....

The only evangelism I can see on display in this thread is from those taking the piss.

[i]If it's all common sense and obvious, why are so many people unhealthy then? [/i]

because people are very prone to acting in ways which are other than in their own best interests?

Roadkill

I reckon a lot of paleo meat would have been from scavaging. never mind coconut...any yorkshire paleo diet would eschew coconut for flattened badger and tyretrack cat.

because people are very prone to acting in ways which are other than in their own best interests?

I don't care what you eat, I care what I eat and what we feed our family.

The paleo idea has helped me with lots of things related to diet and health. If you are healthy, fit and happy then carry on with what you are doing.

I've just stopped eating processed foods and feel better for it - you can eat frozen pizza and microwave horse lasagne if it makes you happy 🙂

[i] And trying to steer people in a healthier direction is a bad idea, why?[/i]

because, in this case, it seems to be being presented as an 'all or nothing' package: 'live like a cave man, you'll feel great'.

Most people aren't prepared to completely change their whole way of life but might, possibly, accept that watching half an hours less telly a night and going to bed earlier would bring health benefits.

No one likes 'big bang' changes - you only have to see what happens whenever stw gets a redesign - but may accept incremental changes that lead to a similar conclusion. What's on offer here is too big a hurdle for the people who need to make the changes to cross.

So, by all means encourage a healthier lifestyle but don't dress it up as being a return to some utopian past where the vast majority of people were malnourished and died young.

Quite shocked how much stick I'm getting for following a diet that works for me. Lot of haters on this thread...

Did you ever see the threads about the iDave diet? If you think Paleo is divisive....

Quite shocked how much stick I'm getting for following a diet that works for me. Lot of haters on this thread...

I think you'll find we're just ribbing people that seem to have fallen for some marketing nonsense which has taken 'living a healthy lifestyle' and turned it into some crazy new concept that's only just been discovered.....

because, in this case, it seems to be being presented as an 'all or nothing' package: 'live like a cave man, you'll feel great'.

So, by all means encourage a healthier lifestyle but don't dress it up as being a return to some utopian past where the vast majority of people were malnourished and died young.

Just like in the Warinner video above, you're missing the point.

No one is [b]actually[/b] trying to be a caveman.

I think you'll find we're just ribbing people that seem to have fallen for some marketing nonsense

Do you similarly "rib" people every time someone "falls for marketing nonsense" and buys a McDonalds? Or a bike?

[i]you're missing the point. [/i]

my understanding is that it says;

1) eat a different diet that's very low in certain food groups and contains no 'modern' processed foods. This will take a lot of time to both find ingredients for and prepare.

2) sleep more

3) be outdoors more

4) exercise more

have I missed anything?

eat a [s]different[/s] diet that[s]'s very low in certain food groups and[/s] contains no 'modern' processed foods. [s]This will take a lot of time to both find ingredients for and prepare.[/s]

Cooking food is really not that difficult or time consuming. How do you think people coped before ready meals?

Ok, so I've understood the basis for the whole thing and as I said at the beginning and have tried to reiterate, my problem is with dressing it up with this whole 'paleo' malarkey.

I have no problem with any of the individual things involved and woudl agree they're something that everyone should be trying to do, it's the banner that they're placed under that I find difficult to accept - it makes it look more difficult to achieve and live with than it needs to be.

I just look at it as a "back to basics" approach, as I'm sure do most people who do it. Agree the Yanks might have gone a bit overboard with some aspects. Although a lot of it is people/the media who have fixated on the "caveman" idea for some reason. And it's probably best to stay away from Paleo websites. They make this place look sane.

agreement 🙂

Cool 8)

It's not really saying anything new

Well, it is new-ish.

The biggest change between this and other healthy lifestyle options is the lack of grains. Most of the world's diet is based on grains, with a huge amount of wheat in the West, and it seems that wheat can have quite significant adverse effects for many people.

Traditional advice used to be fill up on carbs, and don't eat much fat. Modern thinking (not just Paeleo) seems to suggest that may not be especially helpful for weight loss.